I am up for my PR for my SCI for my military reserve position.
From my last PR until now, I have a two of jobs where I left under the terms of a severance/separation agreement (ie., paid a lot of money and signed an agreement). In each instance the agreements state that “employee’s employment is being terminated due to employee’s resignation.”
For both of these companies, the severance agreements each had provisions that require me to keep the details of same confidential (ie, cannot tell anyone but attorney or spouse) and specify that I cannot disclose the details or existence of the agreements. The agreements also stipulate that I will direct all requests by prospective employers for employment verification to The Work Number.
Since an investigator would never find out about the agreements my assumption is that I list each employer and reason for leaving as “resigned to pursue opportunities at XYZ.”
I take it that the real facts of the matter are that it was more than just a resignation…?
Don’t underestimate the ability of an investigator to get more details, particularly if these past employers were government contractors where you held a clearance.
For Job 1 I had a very toxic boss and filed multiple complaints, etc., and the employer agreed to package me out in lieu of me suing the company. So, I resigned and got a settlement payment for agreeing to terms of agreement when I resigned.
For Job 2, I was at a certain level in a particularly sensitive role and the company had a standard severance package it paid to people at this level when they resigned if they agreed to sign the agreement.
Remember, these severance agreements act as legal muzzles (non-disclosure provisions are contained in them) so you don’t go disclosing details to the public.
I personally did an investigation on an individual with similar circumstances who had signed a NDA and anything covered under the NDA I simply disclaimed in the report and moved on. It was no big deal. I did not have the report sent back to me to get more information so I assume the government accepted the fact he signed an NDA. I never heard anything more about it.
It sounds to me like you left the job under quite FAVORABLE circumstances. If asked at the investigation I would just say you left and signed an NDA which which your attorney advised you not to discuss and leave it at that. Consult with your attorney if pressed for more info. Following rules regulations and procedures is part of the investigation as well and you certainly want to demonstrate that you honor signed legal agreements.
I did not pay an attorney to do anything in these situations.
The questions asked are:
For this employment have any of the following happened to you in the last seven (7) years?
Fired
Quit after being told you would be fired
Left by mutual agreement following charges or allegations of misconduct
Left by mutual agreement following notice of unsatisfactory performance
and
For this employment, in the last seven (7) years have you received a written warning, been officially reprimanded, suspended, or disciplined for misconduct in the workplace, such as a violation of security policy?
For both jobs the answer to these is, honestly, no.